aussiebirder

My wife and I recently explored both mountain highlands and coastal bay in search of birds with long curved beaks, being Autumn as it is supposed to be here. We visited Fitzroy Falls in the heart of Morton National Park, where my books are sold at the Visitor Information Centre. I was met by David a friendly ranger there who took us on a short walk, explaining the park’s features. The main attraction here is the single drop waterfall.

This time of year wild flowers are sparse and the most prolifically flowering plant is the Mountain Devil. This tubular flower is most important to the beautiful Eastern Spinebill with its purpose built long curved beak. We were blessed to watch one feed and then give an alarm call before fleeting away.

Here you can see how this nectar dependant bird manages through the cold winter months often because of Mountain Devil flower alone. Later in the month the Banksia bushes will produce fresh nectar.

Click on the images to get a closer look at the beauty of these amazing tubular flowers. Each tube is a flower in its own right.

The White-throated Treecreeper is another bird with a not quite as long curved beak, but this beak is made for prying off bark and into crevices on tree trunks and branches in search of insects, a very different purpose built beak, yet similar. The orange spot on the side of the head denotes it as a female.

The Easter Yellow Robin was also present and it had a short beak because it is mainly insectivorous and does not require a beak that needs to access deep places.

Earlier we took a young couple of birder friends to the river low tide flats to see the endangered Easter Curlew, which is loosing numbers yearly due to predation by humans and loss of habitat. This was a lifer for them. It has the longest of curved beak, being our largest wader bird. This beak is also purpose built but for driving deep int the wet sands of the river bank in search of tiny crustaceans (crabs) and other tiny marine creatures. This bird is the largest migrating bird and extremely fearful of humans, which means it has to be photographed at distance or else it will give its alarm call and fly off.

Here you can see the probing action, sometimes using the jackhammer technique.

Have a wonderful week. Ex Tropical Cyclone Alfred has wreaked its havoc on our north east coast and the weather residue has already reached us, but with not as much rain or wind. Birds of southern Queensland and northern NSW, and their habitats, would have taken a beating also, and they include some of our best birding places.

If you have not yet checked out my Beautiful Bird Books, it is time to do so. These books have continued selling consistently for over TEN years as people discover it’s uniqueness and quality. They are available in NSW National Parks Visitor Centres, Harry Hartog Bookstores, various regional Visitor Information Centres and Olive View Cafe on the Federal Highway at Collector. They are also available here online.

Click on the image to discover the perfect gift for all ages. Introduce our very unique Aussie birds and learn some very helpful life lessons (skills) from each bird. It will open on a new tab.

The long bill on birds is certainly an advantage for digging deep to find their sustenance and prosper in life. Without them digging deep they would miss enjoying the food sources they were created to enjoy and flourish on. So it is with us. Jesus when he was living as a human man like us, yet without sinning (without being self centred by rejecting God’s love and rule over his life). Jesus said to his disciples, distinguishing the advantage they had because they followed and listened to him:

“All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Then he turned to his disciples and said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.” – Luke 10:23,24 (NIV)

The disciples had to dig deep and ask God to explain and help them understand what Jesus was saying. It is the same today as it was then, without God adding to our knowledge, his wisdom and understanding we die living a pointless purposeless unfulfilled unhappy life facing a scary anxious end. It is important to understand for all of us that God alone extends our beaks of faith and understanding by opening out minds to the Truth about Jesus and his plan to bless our lives. However, as has been the case throughout the history of humankind, those with long beaks who do not dig deeply to seek fervently the Truth about Jesus, miss out altogether and continue to suffer in their aloneness, unacceptance, guilt and the fear and anticipation it brings with it of final judgement and condemnation:

“So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace.  And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works [our good deeds]; if it were, grace would no longer be grace [a free gift]. What then? What the people of Israel sought so earnestly they did not obtain. The elect [those who trusted in Jesus] among them did, but the others were hardened,  as it is written:

“God gave them a spirit of stupor,
    eyes that could not see
    and ears that could not hear,
to this very day.” – Romans 11:5-8

It is to our advantage to be digging deeply to discover for ourselves the Truth about God’s salvation provided freely for us in Jesus the Christ (God’s Anointed One or Messiah or Liberator. The name Jesus (Yeshua in Hebrew) means to Save or to Rescue or Deliver. Jesus is our savior, our rescuer and our deliverer from the effects and power that sin and death holds over us.

”  Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment,  so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.” – Hebrews 9:27-28

<<< Back To Top of Page >>>

Adv. Dip. in Counselling and Family Therapy.

Member of Birdlife Australia

To introduce people to our unique Australian birds,

And learn from them how to live a healthy and happy life.

NOTE: All photos, videos and music used on this website are photographed, composed, performed  by the site owner and remains his copyrighted property, unless otherwise stated. The use of any material that is not original material of the site owner is duly acknowledged as such. © W. A. Hewson 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025.